CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – A Lowcountry nonprofit is taking a step forward with a prediabetes education and prevention project.
The SHIFA Free Clinic is a full-service, free clinic that provides medical services to the uninsured community and includes a food pantry location. The group launched the INSPIRE-D project with the help of more than $500,000 in funding recently provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health. The purpose of this project is to increase the number of early tests for disadvantaged communities in the tri-county region.
Organizational leaders implemented a community health assessment toolkit as a first step toward launching the project. The plan is to find the areas where diabetes education and prevention is most needed. Group leaders say one in three adults nationwide has prediabetes, while eight in 10 adults don't even know they have diabetes.
The group's community advisory board will meet for the first time on Wednesday. Board members will review the results of the evaluation toolkit before starting the project in early January. These initiatives include workshops and health fairs where local residents can learn about their health status.
Lydia Ford, SHIFA Free Clinic's INSPIRE-D project coordinator, says there is no downside to learning healthier nutrition, health and fitness techniques to reverse your pre-diabetic condition. Ford said there are more risk factors for the disease than family history.
“Weight is definitely an important factor,” Ford said. “We always say that, believe it or not, being over 35 means you should get tested at least once a year when you visit your doctor. Pregnancy is a huge risk factor.”
The program has a slogan of “Screening, Learning, Preventing,” with a special focus on minority health. Organization leaders say they are targeting minorities more specifically, as they have a large number of Hispanic and Latino customers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that nationally, Hispanic adults are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes in 2022.
“We're not just limiting it to the Hispanic and Latino community,” Ford said. “We also plan to work with African American communities, low-income populations, and all sorts of other areas, and we're especially looking to reach out to rural communities that may have less access to fresh food.” Masu.”
Organization leaders continue to expand the community advisory board to include health assessments. If you are interested, Visit their website. Bilingual community health workers are required to: Visit their website In the same way.
Copyright 2024 WCSC. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
